Written Answers Monday 18 August 2008

Scottish Executive

Audiology

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce hearing screening for people aged over (a) 55, (b) 60 and (c) 65.

Shona Robison: There is currently no national screening plan for these age groups. However, for patients over the age of 50 there are two routes into assessment, through referral by the patient’s general practitioner or through the local NHS Board Audiology Service directly.

Culture

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) funding and (b) assistance has been given to the (i) Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association and (ii) National Piping Centre to promote Scottish traditional music in each of the last nine years.

The Executive has supplied the following corrected answer:

Linda Fabiani: Information on the funding provided to the National Piping Centre by the Scottish Arts Council in each of the last nine years is set out in the following table. The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has not received any funding during that period. The National Piping Centre has, since 1998, received grants from the Scottish Government totalling £1 million to help clear debts. The centre also received £300,000 in 2001 to help provide high-quality music tuition. The Royal Pipe Band Association has not received any government grants.

  National Piping Centre

  

1999-2000
Towards the cost of feasibility funding to investigate setting up annual programme to run a National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland
£3,876


2000-01
Towards the cost of an annual programme to run a National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland to bring more public focus to pipes
£69,599


2003-04
Towards the cost of moving the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland into a training and performance phase
£49,997


2003-04
Towards the cost of the National Youth Pipe Band consolidating core operation and activity
£68,548


2005-06
Towards the cost of encouraging creativity, participation and skill through the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland
£70,600


2006-07
Towards the cost of a National Youth Pipe band to encourage creativity, participation and teach new performance skills.
£82,779


2007-08
Towards the cost of the employment of a Development Officer for the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland.
£30,000


2007-08
Towards the cost of developing the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland
£179,494


 
Total 
£554,893

Further and Higher Education

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why a higher proportion of female than male school leavers enters higher and further education and what action it is taking to increase the proportion of men entering higher and further education.

Fiona Hyslop: Since the 1970s female students have achieved better school qualifications than males. The situation in Scotland in this regard is similar to most other OECD countries.

  Widening access to lifelong learning is a priority for this Scottish Government. We recognise that this requires a long-term strategy and that significant activity is already taking place. "Skills for Scotland", the government’s skills strategy, aims to encourage all our young people to stay in learning post-16 as the best way of ensuring their long-term employability and contribution to society.

  As most students are selected to enter higher education based on school qualifications, attainment at school is an important factor in deciding whether applicants are accepted to university. Curriculum for Excellence aims to bring about a transformation in education that should lead to improved quality of learning and teaching and increased attainment and achievement for all children and young people in Scotland, regardless of their gender.

  We will continue to work with the Scottish Funding Council to ensure that within the widening participation strategy, Learning for All, there is an action plan which recognises the need to address the widening educational gap faced by men.

  In addition, the new Access and Inclusion Forum recently established by the Scottish Funding Council, to be chaired by Professor Jim Gallacher, will address issues relating to improving access and inclusion in further and higher education. Their work will underpin this government’s focus - to take a broader approach and widen the mainstream rather than simply seeking to widen access. The wider access regional forums are responding to this need and have put in place collaborative activity to encourage boys and men to participate in local learning opportunities. This includes:

  Engaging men (North Forum in the Highlands and Islands);

  Playing for Keeps (West Forum in Glasgow), and

  Educated Pass (South East Forum with LEAPS).

General Practitioners

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many GP surgeries have (a) agreed to undertake and (b) opted out of extended hours, broken down by (i) NHS board and (ii) community health partnership.

Shona Robison: The following table shows a breakdown by NHS board of extended hours participation in general practice.

  As at 18 July 2008, 458 GPs in Scotland have contractually signed up to provide extended hours. Three hundred and fifty-seven have declined to offer the service and the remainder are undecided.

  

NHS Board
Number of Practices Opted In to Provide Extended Hours
Number of practices Opted Out of Providing Extended Hours


Ayrshire and Arran
43
8


Borders
10
15


Dumfries and Galloway
15
3


Fife
15
42


Forth Valley
48
8


Glasgow
113
92


Grampian
34
14


Highland
49
26


Lanarkshire
31
58


Lothian
64
54


Orkney
3
0


Shetland
4
1


Tayside
20
34


Western Isles
9
2


Total for Scotland
458
357



  We do not have equivalent information by community health partnership.

Health

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are currently diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, broken down by NHS board area.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not available centrally in the form requested.

  Around 100 boys are born with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy every year in the UK (one in every 3,500 male births) and it is thought that there are currently around 160 people in Scotland living with the disorder.

Higher Education

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the higher education participation rate would need to be to place Scotland in the top quartile internationally, as outlined as a challenge in New Horizons: responding to the challenges of the 21st century , the interim report of the joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities, and how many students this would represent in terms of (a) 2008 population and (b) population projections for 2028.

Fiona Hyslop: Each year the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publish international indicators on participation rates in tertiary education (degree level and above) in their publication Education at a Glance. The most recent figures, published in September 2007, relate to the academic year 2004-05.

  These figures show the lowest participation rate within the top quartile belongs to Iceland at 74%; therefore the participation rate for Scotland would need to be 74% to place Scotland in the top quartile. For the academic year 2004-05 the participation rate for Scotland was 56%.

  Assuming that the participation rate of all member countries remains the same the number of entrants to Scottish institutions would need to rise to 55,440 in 2008 and 50,165 in 2028 (increases of 14,180 and 8,905 respectively compared to 2004-05). The decreased figure for 2028 compared to 2008 is due to a projected decline in the Scottish population.

  Sources: General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

Higher Education

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what activity the Scottish Funding Council carries out in its work to regulate universities.

Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) does not regulate autonomous higher education institutions (HEIs). Rather, the SFC sets out its formal relationship with institutions through its Financial Memorandum.

  Amongst the SFC’s roles, as set out in the memorandum, is the duty to monitor, evaluate and ensure accountability for the public funds distributed to universities.

  The memorandum sets out the requirements which are a condition of the SFC’s funding. It also sets out the agreed expectations which the institution has a right to have of the SFC. Full details of the memorandum can be found on the SFC’s website:

  http://www.sfc.ac.uk/information/information_gmap/financial_memorandum_jan_06.html.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been issued on the use of antibiotics in the prevention and treatment of Clostridium difficile and when this guidance was first issued and last updated.

Nicola Sturgeon: The first guidance document issued to NHS boards on the use of antibiotics in the prevention of Clostridium difficile was the Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and Scottish Action Plan, 2002 .

  The Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) Task Force subsequently reviewed the implementation of the recommendations contained in the 2002 guidance and in 2005 the Scottish Medicines Consortium published Antimicrobial Prescribing Policy and Practice in Scotland.

  The latest guidance to be issued to NHS boards, is the Scottish Management of Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan (ScotMARAP) which I launched in March 2008. ScotMARAP has replaced the 2002 guidance document and outlines the national programme for Scotland in tackling antimicrobial resistance and prudent prescribing over the next five years in primary and secondary care.

  On 8 July 2008, CEL 30 2008, was sent to all chief executives, medical directors, and infection control manager of NHS boards and special health boards, seeking the immediate implementation of the national policies set out in ScotMARAP.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken beyond the mandatory surveillance programme for Clostridium difficile to ensure that the outcomes for all affected patients are recorded.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government Health Directorates Healthcare Associated Infection - Recommendations and Actions report, published on 7 August 2008, outlines a number of recommendations and actions which will be implemented to ensure that Clostridium difficile (C-diff) and other healthcare associated infections are prevented and controlled.

  One of the recommendations is to develop a "Root Cause Analysis" tool to enable NHS boards to investigate adverse outcomes, including death. In addition to this, further emphasis will be placed on local surveillance procedures. A standard template and guidance for local surveillance is to be developed and implemented for NHS boards to monitor and influence the infection control and prevention practices in each NHS board area.

  A full list of the recommendations and actions can be accessed via the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/08/08120000/0.

Justice

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were given a prison sentence of (a) less than one week, (b) one to two weeks, (c) two to three weeks, (d) three to four weeks, (e) four to five weeks, (f) five to six weeks, (g) six to seven weeks and (h) seven to eight weeks in each of the last 10 years.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons given Custodial Sentences in Scottish Courts by Selected Sentence Length, 1997-98 to 2006-07

  

Financial Year
Sentence in Days


1-6
7-13
14-20
21-27
28-34
35-41
42-48
49-56


1997-98
7
222
274
57
1,725
48
69
12


1998-99
4
193
240
40
1,763
41
59
13


1999-2000
4
162
256
47
1,646
46
61
13


2000-01
11
213
221
40
1,633
27
57
11


2001-02
21
189
251
45
1,770
63
64
8


2002-03
5
128
237
38
1,779
34
65
10


2003-04
2
119
206
56
1,670
36
56
6


2004-05
2
87
164
35
1,765
80
72
34


2005-06
4
69
163
71
1,577
242
135
45


2006-07
5
87
240
79
1,717
388
204
103

Justice

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, crimes resulted in a person being found guilty in court in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) main crime and (b) offence category.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following tables. The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable for a number of reasons. A person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim, and a crime may be recorded in one year and proceedings taken in a subsequent year. Crimes committed by children will also generally be dealt with through the children’s hearings system rather than courts, while some minor crimes can be dealt with by alternatives to prosecution such as fiscal fines. The implementation in April 2004 of the more victim oriented Scottish Crime Recording Standard increased the numbers of minor crimes recorded by the police, such as minor crimes of vandalism and minor thefts.

  Crimes Recorded by the Police, Scotland, 1997-98 to 2006-07

  

Financial Year
Non-Sexual Crimes of Violence
Crimes of Indecency
Crimes of Dishonesty
Fire-Raising, Vandalism etc.
Other Crimes


1997-98
13,394
7,414
266,886
81,036
52,272


1998-99
14,693
7,071
276,974
77,624
57,734


1999-2000
15,831
5,882
275,557
81,197
57,014


2000-01
14,812
5,727
253,295
85,781
58,879


2001-02
15,653
5,994
242,878
94,944
66,719


2002-03
16,074
6,623
224,785
97,598
73,201


2003-04
15,187
6,786
211,004
103,732
77,505


2004-05
14,728
7,324
210,365
128,566
77,138


2005-06
13,726
6,558
187,798
127,889
81,814


2006-07
14,099
6,726
183,760
129,734
84,938



  Persons Convicted of Crimes in Scottish Courts1, 1997-98 to 2006-07

  

Financial Year
Non-Sexual Crimes of Violence
Crimes of Indecency
Crimes of Dishonesty
Fire-Raising, Vandalism etc.
Other Crimes


1997-98
2,039
1,329
25,272
4,871
14,551


1998-99
2,000
1,280
24,726
4,591
13,698


1999-2000
2,003
790
22,652
3,979
12,888


2000-01
1,976
633
20,571
3,942
12,558


2001-02
2,092
614
21,536
4,051
13,823


2002-03
2,381
562
21,700
4,212
13,954


2003-04
2,596
666
19,887
4,759
15,453


2004-05
2,425
809
19,665
5,024
16,798


2005-06
2,439
852
18,044
4,998
16,963


2006-07
2,364
841
18,401
5,429
19,752



  Note: 1. Where main offence.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts Expressed as a Percentage of Crimes Recorded by the Police, 1997-98 to 2006-07

  

Financial Year
Non-Sexual Crimes of Violence
Crimes of Indecency
Crimes of Dishonesty
Fire-Raising, Vandalism etc.
Other Crimes


1997-98
15
18
9
6
28


1998-99
14
18
9
6
24


1999-2000
13
13
8
5
23


2000-01
13
11
8
5
21


2001-02
13
10
9
4
21


2002-03
15
8
10
4
19


2003-04
17
10
9
5
20


2004-05
16
11
9
4
22


2005-06
18
13
10
4
21


2006-07
17
13
10
4
23

Justice

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) crimes and (b) offences were prosecuted in court in each of the last 10 years and, of these, what percentage resulted in a conviction.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons Prosecuted and Persons Convicted of Crimes in Scottish Courts1, 1997-98 to 2006-07

  

Financial Year
Prosecutions
Convictions
% Convicted


1997-98
58,859
48,062
82


1998-99
56,087
46,295
83


1999-2000
52,103
42,312
81


2000-01
49,230
39,680
81


2001-02
51,113
42,116
82


2002-03
47,465
42,809
90


2003-04
49,159
43,361
88


2004-05
50,782
44,721
88


2005-06
48,909
43,296
89


2006-07
53,242
46,787
88



  Note: 1. Where main offence.

  Persons Prosecuted and Persons Convicted of Offences in Scottish Courts1, 1997-98 to 2006-07

  

Financial Year
Prosecutions
Convictions
% Convicted


1997-98
111,744
101,272
91


1998-99
100,148
90,879
91


1999-2000
95,651
85,792
90


2000-01
83,014
73,526
89


2001-02
88,989
79,482
89


2002-03
90,844
84,963
94


2003-04
97,573
90,253
92


2004-05
98,569
90,324
92


2005-06
97,759
89,488
92


2006-07
100,700
92,043
91



  Note: 1. Where main offence.

Kinship Care

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the statutory definition is of kinship.

Fiona Hyslop: There is currently no statutory definition of "kinship".

  A kinship carer of a looked after child will be defined in the updated Looked After Children (Scotland) regulations. These will be brought before Parliament in due course.

Kinship Care

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to promote kinship care as the first option for children whose parents are unable to look after them and, in particular, what action it is taking to make family group conferencing or an equivalent approach available to all children and extended families where care in the extended family needs to be considered.

Fiona Hyslop: The joint Scottish Government - COSLA strategy Getting it right for every child in kinship and foster care  emphasises the central role of the child and their family in decisions made about their care and the right of every child to have their family and friends explored as potential carers if they need to leave the care of their parents. The action Scottish Government is taking to support kinship carers is set out in the response to the answer to question S3W-15326 on 18 August 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliamen.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The strategy also states that family group conferencing can provide an effective forum for many children and their family members to discuss the capacity of the family to care safely and permanently for the child. It is a matter for local authorities to work with all partners to determine which approaches are deployed locally.

Kinship Care

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to improve the status of kinship carers.

Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has taken a range of actions to improve the status and address the needs of kinship carers. This includes:

  Providing new central financial resources to local authorities to meet our joint commitment within the National Concordat to pay a weekly financial allowance to an approved kinship carer of a looked after child.

  The development of guidance by the Getting it right for every child in kinship and foster care reference group on support for kinship carers.

  Central funding of Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) to deliver a specialist advice and information service for all kinship carers.

  Work undertaken by Scottish ministers, in conjunction with UK ministers, to discuss improvements to the UK benefits and taxation system as it effects kinship carers.

Kinship Care

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that kinship and foster carers have short breaks from caring.

Fiona Hyslop: Our concordat with COSLA includes a commitment to deliver an additional 10,000 respite weeks per year by 2010-11. The kinship carers, who fall within the definition of an unpaid carer (i.e. who care on a regular and substantial basis for a child who is disabled or has long-term health problems), will be among those who benefit.

  Getting it right for every child in kinship and foster care notes the importance of short-term breaks for foster and kinship carers.

  It is the role of local authorities to determine how they can best support carers by providing short-term breaks.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many myalgic encephalomyelitis nurses there are.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally. The planning of the workforce, including specialist nurses, is primarily a matter for individual NHS boards. It is for NHS boards to determine levels of service provision based on local needs.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are in care owing to a parent suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Fiona Hyslop: This information is not held centrally.

NHS Staff

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of hand hygiene compliance has been by staff in hospitals in the Lothians in each of the last five years, broken down by hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: Health Protection Scotland (HPS) began collecting information on the compliance of hand hygiene procedures of staff in January 2007, following the launch of Scotland’s Hand Hygiene Campaign, Germs. Wash your hands of them. The information collected by HPS is published according to staff type and NHS board, but not by hospital. Information by hospital is available from the NHS board on request.

  Information on the compliance of hand hygiene procedures for NHS Lothian is provided in the following table:

  Audit Period for Hand Hygiene Compliance

  

NHS Board
15-28 February 2007
3-14 September 2007
18-29 February 2008
5-16 May 2008


NHS Lothian
66%
82%
79%
87%



  Source: NHS Hand Hygiene Campaign 3rd Audit Report, July 2008

  In addition, a healthcare associated infection (HAI) reporting template will be developed for NHS boards to use as a framework to report progress against the HAI agenda to all board meetings and form the basis of the Boards Infection Control Managers HAI annual report that will be part of the Director of Public Health’s Report.

Police

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-4664 by Kenny MacAskill on 17 October 2007, how many police officers there have been in each year since 1996-97, broken down by police force.

Kenny MacAskill: Figures on the number of police officers employed by each force from 1979 to 2006 were given in the answer to question S3W-4664.

  For 2007-08, figures on the number of police officers employed by each force are available in the Quarterly Strength Return, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 43307). This is updated on a quarterly basis to reflect returns for 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December each year.

School Leavers

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers the short and long-term social and economic consequences to be of (a) a higher proportion of female than male school leavers entering higher and further education and (b) a higher proportion of male than female school leavers being unemployed.

Fiona Hyslop: The fact that a higher proportion of female than male schools leavers enter higher and further education is not unique to Scotland. This has been the case for the last 10 years and is similar to most other OECD countries. We believe that the issue of gender equality is very important to society and to the economy as well as for individuals. Gender equality does not mean parity or 50:50 ratios everywhere, but rather equality of opportunity.

  The importance of learning and skills as a fundamental driver of growth is firmly established as a critical element in the creation of a knowledge-based economy that is responsive and adaptable to rapid global change and the establishment of a wealthier Scotland. A smarter Scotland needs young people who are ready to contribute effectively in the community and the world of work and go on to develop their skills through lifelong learning. Further, it needs improved skill levels across the entire population and a better match of supply and demand.

  Since most students are selected to enter higher education based on school qualifications, attainment at school is the single most important factor in deciding whether applicants are accepted to universities. Curriculum for Excellence aims to bring about a transformation in education that should lead to improved quality of learning and teaching and increased attainment and achievement for all children and young people in Scotland, regardless of their gender.

  We are aware that young people who experience periods of unemployment and disengagement from learning between the ages of 16 and 19 are more likely to experience long-term unemployment in adult life. That is why one of the indicators in our national performance framework measures our progress in supporting young people to enter positive and sustained destinations when they leave school. "Skills for Scotland" aims to encourage all our young people to stay in learning post-16 as the best way of ensuring their long-term employability and contribution to society.

Student Finance

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what amount is due to the Student Loans Company and how much of this has been outstanding for more than (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 years.

Fiona Hyslop: The following table shows the total amount due to the Student Loans Company at the end of financial year 2007-08 broken down by how long it has been outstanding.

  

Years in Repayment
Debt Outstanding (£ Million)


0 to 5 Years
1,158.1


6 to 10 Years
275.8


11 to 15 Years
20.6


15+ Years
0.2


Not Yet in Repayment
595.7


Total
2,050.3



  Source: Student Loans Company.

  Note: Outstanding debt figures are shown in millions and is rounded to the nearest 100,000.